30th Oct 2026 09:08
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Friday, with the FTSE 100 rising as gains for AstraZeneca and BT Group offset losses for NatWest and Airtel Africa, while investors digested a contraction in the French economy.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 53.85 points, 0.5%, at 10,775.92. The FTSE 250 was down 58.87 points, 0.2%, at 24,615.26, and the AIM All-Share was down 4.52 points, 0.6%, at 758.93.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 1,069.62, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally lower at 21,741.88, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 19,056.81.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.2%.
France's economy contracted slightly in the third quarter, while consumer and producer price inflation accelerated, according to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics & Economic Studies.
Gross domestic product fell 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, following stagnation in the second quarter.
Household consumption growth accelerated to 0.4% from 0.2%, while investment declined 0.6% after falling 0.5% in the previous quarter.
Foreign trade subtracted 0.6 percentage points from GDP growth, as exports fell 1.7% after rising 2.8% in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 3.4% in October from 3.1% in September, driven by higher energy and services prices.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4%, following a 0.3% decline in September. Harmonised annual inflation increased to 3.8% from 3.4%.
Separate figures showed industrial producer prices rose 8.2% annually in September, accelerating from 6.1% in August, while monthly growth picked up to 1.7% from 1.2%.
Surging energy costs drove the increase, with refined petroleum product prices jumping 92% annually amid the conflict in the Middle East.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3413 early Friday, higher than USD1.3369 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling edged up to EUR1.1981 from EUR1.1977 a day earlier.
The euro rose to USD1.1196 early Friday from USD1.1162 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar fell to JPY157.21 from JPY157.85.
In the FTSE 100, BT Group was among the leading gainers, rising 5.0%.
AstraZeneca advanced 3.0% after reporting higher third-quarter profit and revenue, supported by growth across its pharmaceutical portfolio.
The Cambridge-based drugmaker said pretax profit rose 22% to USD3.96 billion in the three months ended September 30 from USD3.24 billion a year earlier, as revenue increased 6.7% to USD16.21 billion from USD15.19 billion.
Operating profit climbed 23% to USD4.39 billion from USD3.58 billion, while earnings per share rose 23% to USD2.02 from USD1.64.
For the first nine months, revenue grew 8.0% to USD46.88 billion, or 7.0% at constant exchange rates, supported by double-digit growth in Oncology, Respiratory & Immunology and Rare Disease.
Core earnings per share increased 14% to USD8.00.
AstraZeneca highlighted 47 approvals in major regions since its 2025 results, including four new medicines, alongside 12 positive phase III trial readouts.
The pharmaceutical company maintained its full-year guidance for revenue growth of a mid-to-high single-digit percentage and core earnings per share growth of a low double-digit percentage at constant exchange rates.
At the other end of the blue-chip index, Airtel Africa fell 4.5% despite reporting continued customer growth in the first half of its financial year.
The telecommunications group said its total customer base increased 12% to 193.9 million in the six months ended September 30, supported by continued investment in its network and digital capabilities.
Data customers rose 15% to 89.9 million, while mobile money customers increased 22% to 60.9 million, reflecting sustained demand for the group's financial services.
NatWest Group declined 3.0% despite reporting higher third-quarter operating pretax profit and income.
The bank said operating pretax profit rose 1.9% to GBP2.23 billion from GBP2.18 billion a year earlier, while total income increased 7.1% to GBP4.64 billion from GBP4.33 billion.
Net interest income grew 8.9% to GBP3.56 billion from GBP3.27 billion, although profit attributable to ordinary shareholders fell 4.1% to GBP1.53 billion from GBP1.60 billion.
NatWest reported a third-quarter return on tangible equity of 21.6%, down from 22.3% a year earlier, while its common equity tier one capital ratio improved to 13.5%.
For the first nine months, pretax profit climbed 13% to GBP6.54 billion from GBP5.77 billion, with total income up 9.6% to GBP13.50 billion.
The bank reaffirmed its full-year outlook and said it now expects risk-weighted assets of around GBP210 billion on January 1, 2027, including the impact of Basel 3.1.
In the FTSE 250, Ceres Power Holdings fell 8.5%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed down 2.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 1.4% lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 1.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both falling 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.4%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.93% early Friday, narrowing from 5.00% on Thursday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 5.29% from 5.33%.
Brent oil was trading at USD112.55 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD113.75 late Thursday, as European countries prepared to release oil from strategic reserves amid continued disruption to global energy supplies.
Several European countries plan to release 42.6 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves in the coming months as part of efforts by the Group of Seven nations to ease supply concerns.
"EU member states have reaffirmed their commitment to an accelerated release of 42.6 million barrels from strategic reserves over the next months, and around half of this will be diesel," EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Thursday.
The announcement comes as disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to threaten global energy supplies.
Iran's armed forces said four tankers caught fire after striking mines while attempting to navigate the waterway, a day after the US military said it had cleared key shipping routes.
Gold was quoted at USD3,997.90 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD4,012.39 on Thursday.
Still to come on Friday's economic calendar, the eurozone releases gross domestic product and unemployment figures, while Germany publishes consumer price inflation data.
In the US, the employment cost index and Chicago purchasing managers' index are due.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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